Friends Working Discussion Meeting Sharing Ideas Concept
Values are our guiding principles. Being a Montessori leader means we participate in values-based leadership, which should be our aspiration. Working toward values-based leadership involves a continuous self-improvement process: thinking about Montessori values; considering how they should shape our behavior, actions, and communications; reflecting on if we are in alignment with Montessori values on a day-to-day basis. The goal is for these values to be evident in everything we do and say.
As Montessorians, we are asked to model the behaviors, ideals, and personal qualities that reflect the essence of Montessori. We present, intentionally and consistently, our best self to the children. However, when we give our children lessons on peace, acceptance, honesty, collaboration, and kindness, can we honestly say that we live these values every day? We teach more of who we are than what we know; therefore, one must pose the question: do we practice what we teach? One must examine: do we give our best self to our colleagues? And, for those in certain critical positions, a key inquiry arises: is our leadership rooted in the same essential call to live Montessori?
As educators, we are drawn to the Montessori pedagogy because we are seekers of light. There is a place in the heart of the world that holds the light of all the children. We work together as long as it takes to keep the light safe and burning. This vocation will always be so for a Montessorian. We protect the light of a child.
Maria Montessori knew about this place in the heart and recognized the light of a child and the importance of always keeping it safe, because “the child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.” Our work is essential to fulfilling this promise. To keep this assurance, Maria Montessori asked us to rise up to our highest self in order to guide our children: “A guide must acquire a moral alertness, which has not previously been demanded by any other system, and this is revealed in the guide’s tranquility, patience, charity, and humility. Not words, but virtues, are the main qualification.” We must rise up to these virtues every day, for our children, because this is our purpose and our calling.
While we tend to align ourselves with the Montessori tenets for our children, we do not always remember to do so when interacting with our colleagues. We forget to protect their light. Although working with children often requires highly developed emotional skills, we don’t always use our emotional intelligence to navigate our relationships with each other. We have to rise up and do better for ourselves and for our colleagues. We need to examine how we interact with each other and assess if it is in alignment with the “moral alertness” Maria Montessori requests of us.
Does our own behavior with our colleagues live up to the standards we ask of our students? Does our behavior lead to deep and sustainable improvement not only for our students but also for our colleagues and ourselves?
To build healthy, thriving communities steeped deeply in Montessori beliefs, it is imperative to build the container that will have the space to hold the light of all involved. This building process starts with the school’s leadership. As school leaders, we must have the ability to identify and reflect on what we want our community to stand for, what our values are, and what matters most to us. We have to be willing to constantly assess whether or not every aspect of the community is truly “living Montessori.” A great part of this assessment is based on the leader consistently considering all outlooks and opinions with an open mind, not taking sides. Then, as school leaders, we need to also enhance the capacity within our communities to see situations from multiple perspectives and divergent viewpoints to gain a fuller understanding.
Once that foundation is set, it aids another of the most essential components to healthy communities… our ability and willingness to put effort into developing healthy relationships with our colleagues. This process can only happen if we engage in Courageous Conversation. Conversations are considered “courageous” when the participants are able, in a safe environment, to reveal the beliefs, as well as check the cogency of the assumptions, that drive their actions, feelings, and views. By being curious and open to not only the behaviors and actions of colleagues but also the beliefs that lie behind the behaviors, leaders are demonstrating respect. Taking the time to acknowledge, discuss, and understand why colleagues act as they do paves the way for suggested alternatives that benefit both parties. Engaging in Courageous Conversation fosters growth through respectful dialogue by listening to and acting on feedback and providing action that will lead to positive, fruitful change.
Facilitating Courageous Conversation is incomparable in its impact over whether or not we can affect deep and lasting improvement, and, as part of that process, build a school-wide culture of trust and respect. In turn, our community becomes a place in which change and improvement are welcomed and embedded in daily practice. Without Courageous Conversation, we may be able to have a well-functioning school and affect change on the surface, but deep and lasting change will be almost impossible.
One of the first steps to creating a culture of open, honest communication is to eradicate venting. Venting is often the quickest way to extinguish a colleague’s flame. We may have a false belief that venting is helpful and healthy. It is neither. Venting is a more acceptable label for gossip. Trust is a crucial ingredient of healthy partnerships, and talking behind someone’s back to another colleague gradually destroys the trust, faith, and confidence essential for community health. It is damaging, unnecessary, and doesn’t live up to the tenets of Montessori and who she asks us to be for our children.
We must rise up and create communities where the expression of honest concerns is expected, required, and desired by everyone involved to support a collaborative spirit while protecting the light of all. It is the self-inculcation of Montessori values into our life, our spirit, our natural way of being that, in time, makes us a leader, a beacon, that others seek to follow. May our communities be a sacred space where the light of an individual is honored, nurtured, and protected.
ML / September 2018 / pg 28
